This Easter will be different, without any traveling, gatherings or visits to the churches, while visits to relatives’ and friends’ houses to celebrate are not permitted, Greece’s government spokesperson Stelios Petsas warned on Monday, right at the beginning of the Holy Week.
“We disapprove incidents like those in Koukaki and Corfu,” he said with reference to priests who opened churches to the public and shared the Holy Communions. Churches will be closed during the Holy Week, he stressed.
“No complacency, no relaxation [of effort] can be allowed. If we ease up, we will pay for it,” he underlined.
He stressed that it was important to follow the instructions of the experts in order for the health crisis to end as quickly as possible and with the least possible repercussions, adding that “it would be a shame to destroy everything we have achieved.”
It would be “unfair” if people got carried away by the spring weather and violated the lockdown restrictive measures, Petsas noted.
Petsas warned that the controls by the authorities were strict and will become even stricter.
“We will not roast lamb, we will not go to the villages,” he reitarated.
No movement is permitted to visit relatives and friends’ houses to celebrate Jesus Insurrection and the Easter. “Let’s instead celebrate the first victory against the coronavirus a few weeks later and let’s celebrate Easter all together, according to our traditions and religion, next year,” he added.
The government spokesperson emphasized that police checks are being carried out along all national highways, both old and new, as well as on minor roads, at intercity bus and train stations, ports and airports.
At the same time, he noted that the preparations are underway for a return to normality, but “we are not there yet. Nothing has been decided yet. The only sure thing is that the more disciplined our adherence to the restrictive measures, the sooner the countdown will begin for the slow and gradual return to normality.”
Greece is determined to keep the coronavirus development in the country under control, even if some are seeking ways to escape controls and fines.
*Pictures are from Twitter.
